this is the shit I want to make …

Monthly Archives: November 2013

Although this project doesn’t include hammers and nails, I think it still counts as ‘shit I want to make’. I used to make a batch of sloe gin every year, but after a few fallow years, I am running out of sloe gin reserves, so it’s time to get some ready for next year. This describes how to make sloe gin. I provide a sloe gin recipe, ingredients and a step by step guide with photos.

What is Sloe Gin?

Sloe gin, is a British liqueur made by infusing gin with sloe berries for a year or so (with the addition of some sugar). What comes out the other end is a bloody delicious, rich and fruity winter tipple.

Sloes are the fruit of the Blackthorn (Prunus Spinosa) which grows in and around the hedgerows of the fields Britain (and Europe, North America & Asia). They look like this:

Apparently they are related to plums but they are much smaller, and taste bitter. They become ripe in the autumn around October (it is suggested to pick them just after the first frost but it depends what the demand is for your local bushes).

The Ingredients

In the past I have always ‘winged it’ so this year I thought I would actually measure what I put in, so here are the ingredients per litre of gin (I am making 3 litres):

How sloe gin is made – ‘Laying Down’

The first stage is ‘laying down’ which is where most of the hard work is done. This is where the sloes are prepared and added to the gin and sugar. The gin then needs some regular turning/moving for about a year after which it needs to be filtered and bottled. Finally – the 4th stage is the drinking stage which should be in about a year. You need to be patient!

1. Wash the berries.

2. Remove all the stalks and leaves and ensure that the skin of each sloe has been broken. Some people freeze the sloes to do this, either by putting in the freezer or picking after the first frost. I’m not convinced that this is 100% effective so to be sure, I use the ‘truly amazing Pendsé sloe pricking device’to pick up the sloes. One can then remove any stalk / leaves and put the prepared sloe in a container ready to be infused.

This is the most time-consuming bit of the process. Also a bit messy so worth covering your table. Get a couple of mates to help you, put on some tunes and have a few beers / wine. A nice way to spend an autumn’s evening catching up with some friends.

3. Once the sloes are prepared, then weigh out the correct amount of caster sugar and sloes for each jar (225g of sugar & 482g of sloes).

4. Start to fill up the jar by alternating 15mm-20mm layers of sloes and sugar. Don’t worry too much as it will all get mixed up anyway. It should look something like this:

5. Once you have finished, the jar should be a bit less than half full and you can now fill it up with the gin. If you following the measurements I have given, a 1 litre bottle of gin should fit perfectly.

6. Finally, check they are watertight and box them up. Remember to label them so that in a year’s time you know the quantities etc.

That is pretty much it for now. Store in a cool dark room (e.g. garage or shed) and turn / move every couple of days for the first week or two, then once a week, then once a month. Again – it doesn’t matter too much, but it just needs to be gently mixed up once in a while.

This is a pretty bloody amazing invention. If you are planning to make sloe gin, then this is the must have gadget to speed the process up.

Before putting the sloes in the gin, they need to be pricked to break the skin and allow the juice to escape into the gin. Freezing the sloes can help this process but is not 100% effective so I invented this device. In order to make it, you will need:

A wine cork

5-10 pins

A knife

This is how you make it:

1. Cut an 8mm slice off the cork.

2. Stick the pins through the cork

And that’s it …. Use it to pick up and prick the sloes. It will save you loads of time and you will be telling your mates what a genius invention it is. I’ll probably take it to Dragon’s Den …